Thursday

Apple Cider Cupcakes..

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Ok, if you know me, you know I love cider. My obsession started in college where I met my bestie. She had celiacs, thus could not drink most beers. A problem for most tailgates until our discovery of cider, and problem solved! After 4 years of tailgating and cheering on our 'Noles to Victory it is safe to say I developed a liking for cider. In fact I would consider myself somewhat of a cider connoisseur. Strongbow, Angry Orchard, Woodchuck, Thornbury, Stella Artois, Smith & Forge were my go to's until our most recent find while in Europe where we discovered Luscombe Organic Devon Cider and Kopparbergs- a Swedish producer of various ciders.. I don't discriminate.

So when I came across a sorority sister, Allison posting about Apple Beer Cupcakes she tried on Facebook, I knew I just had to try them! She stumbled across the recipe on Brown Sugar Mama. And shared with me!

The recipe is

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 c. sugar

2 1/2 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3 eggs, room temperature

2 c. shredded apples (2 Golden Delicious Apples, preferably)

1 c. Angry Orchard Beer, Apple Crisp

1/4 c. milk

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

maple syrup and pecan pieces for garnish

FROSTING

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 stick unsalted butter

4 c. powdered sugar

1 tbsp. heavy cream or milk

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

pinch of salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees

In
a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and
fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time to make sure that they are well
incorporated.

Add
the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Now add the
vanilla extract milk, and very slowly, pour in the beer while the mixer
is still blending.

Once you shred the apples, place the apple shreds inside a clean kitchen towel and ring the juice into a cup for you to drink later (smiles). Fold the shredded apples into the cupcake batter.

Line two cupcake pans with cupcake papers and use an ice cream scoop to scoop some of the batter in each cupcake paper. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes. Allow to cool before icing.

For the icing: Beat together the cream cheese and butter until well mixed. Slowly add the powdered sugar a cup at a time
making sure that each cup gets well mixed making a thick and smooth
frosting. Add the cinnamon, vanilla, and salt and mix once more and
spread or pipe onto your cupcakes. Drizzle with maple syrup and top off
with pecan pieces if you would like.

I omitted salt from both the cupcake and the frosting. I also made a second batch with gluten free flour and they turned out great just didn't rise as much